CHARADRIIDA, 573 
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THE COMMON SNIPE. 
GALLINAGO CE&LESTIS (Frenzel). 
This species still breeds in England and Wales wherever drainage 
has not abolished the localities suited to its habits, and it is 
comparatively abundant in the marshes of Suffolk, Norfolk and 
Lincolnshire, while it is generally distributed on the northern moor- 
lands, and up to a considerable elevation in Scotland and Ireland. The 
birds produced in the British Islands are few, however, compared to 
those which annually visit us in October and November, when many 
are killed by striking against the lanterns of lighthouses. These 
migrants, though they frequently shift their ground under the influence 
of the weather, often remain until March. 
The Snipe is said to have occurred in South Greenland, and is 
fairly abundant as a breeding-species in Iceland, the Feeroes, and 
throughout northern and temperate Europe down to the marshes of 
Northern Italy. On passage or as a winter-visitor it is found in the 
Atlantic Islands, as well as on the African side of the Mediterranean 
basin ; it ascends the Nile valley to Abyssinia, and reaches Aden; 
while on the west side it occurs in Senegambia. In Asia, south of 
70° N. in Siberia, it breeds down to the lofty table-lands of Yarkand, 
crosses the great central ranges on migration, and is found in winter 
